Which brings us back to Sozzi’s savvy business sense, take-charge attitude, and refreshing honesty. “It’s a little bit slow, considering that I like to move at a fast pace,” she says of recording her album. “It’s been difficult getting the right kind of material. I’m so picky with what I put out… I’d rather wait a whole year than put out two terrible songs or half-ass songs. It’s bad, because you want to get new product and new material out there… but at the same time, I don’t want to put out garbage, you know?”

If her past work is any indication, there’s little chance of that. And while Sozzi remains strikingly candid about the state of the music industry, she’s also willing to poke fun at herself: “I don’t listen to the radio that much, anymore,” she laughs. “Especially cause I’m not on it!”

To be totally honest, Kim, we somehow have a feeling that won’t be the case for long.

 

KIM SOZZI on…

Why she recorded a cover version of the Heart hit “Alone”:

It’s a huge “girl song.” It’s a girl anthem! So that’s great. And prior to doing “Alone” I hadn’t recorded a big song, range-wise and vocal-wise. I wanted to at least show my fans and other people that there was something to it [her voice]. I mean, “How Did You Know?” was completely Mickey Mouse easy. All these songs are so not vocally challenging, so I wanted to push myself a little bit and show people that I have more to it.

The challenges of being an American dance artist:

 You know what’s weird? Z100 [major New York City radio station] will play all Cascada stuff and it’ll be a #1 hit. DJ Sammy, Cascada, all those acts are always overseas European acts. Why can’t they play their own home artists? It’s so weird. You don’t get the same respect. If you’re European doing dance music they want to play you in New York… but it’s so much harder when you’re from here doing dance music.

One of her most memorable moments performing:

I was beyond excited... They were getting ready to introduce me [at Beatstock 2007], and the time of the show was an issue for the producer... they wanted everyone to be under a certain amount of time. They told me that "you can only have 10 minutes, you have to cram everything in." And Eugene, he's the voice of the station... he put together a [recorded] introduction for me. And they actually played it! I thought we didn't have enough time, and they actually played the intro. It was like a minute long intro, and I was about to cry! I'm not kidding, I was so excited. I was hearing my name at Jones Beach, which is where I grew up. But every time I go on stage I feel like that. I feel so lucky. There are so many people who want to be on stage, out there performing in front of people. There are so many talented people who don't get the same opportunity. I'm so lucky.

What she loves about working in dance music:

Everything! The music, the DJs, the lifestyle… I love it, I think it’s fun. I’ve grown up a little, so I can’t keep up with it as much as I did back in the day! [laughs] The people are great. It’s such a small niche, the teamwork and networking involved. The business is so small because it’s such a small subculture of music. You meet a lot of friends and everyone wants to help each other. Everyone’s always looking to help other people. I’m always looking out for other artists and vice versa.

Being a DIVA:

I’m definitely not a Diva! I’d love to be one, but I have to be a little bit more successful to actually take the status of Diva. I would love to be able to demand more and call the shots a little bit more. I think it comes with a certain level of success. That’s why when people do get to that level they become a little Diva-ish. Because for all these years, they’ve been having to get bossed around! It’s a whole mentality… a power game, you know? You take a lot of crap in the beginning and you get to a certain level where you can tell everyone else, “screw you!” and they have no choice. I’d love to get to that point! I’m not there yet, but they say, “the people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down.” So I keep all my friends, try not to make too many enemies, and keep climbing that ladder!